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Fermentation

Buchi Kombucha is a living probiotic beverage made by fermenting black tea.

The craft of fermenting foods like kombucha, yogurt and kimchi has been preserved and passed down by our ancestors for thousands of years. Our tribe keeps these traditions alive to Cultivate The Culture™ -- both by brewing billions of hardworking active probiotic cultures and nourishing a thriving human culture to engage in community centered commerce.

History of Kombucha

DISCLAIMER:
Stories about the use of Kombucha as a folk remedy date back thousands of years, however, its origins remain mostly unknown to this day.

We have compiled significant stories and stitched them together with a mix of educated assumptions. The history and lore surrounding Kombucha is often esoteric in nature. Used in China for centuries during rites of atonement, kombucha culture has been brewed, transported and traded all over the world. The ritual and tradition around the making and sharing of kombucha adds an element of mystery and power to its alchemy.

IN TRUTH, we don’t know if our account of kombucha’s history is at all accurate, in fact, we would love some help improving it. However, one day we would like to visit different parts of the world and record the stories of the elders who still brew the beverage today and do our part to help fill in the missing pieces. Until then, if you have information, research or recorded stories about kombucha and would to contribute to an open-source record, please reach out to us here.

300BCE - 300CE

Mysterious Healing Tonic Appears in Japan

During the Yayoi Period (300 BCE - 300CE) agriculture referred to as "Rice Culture" was imported into Japan around 200-100 BCE by farmers who migrated from the Korean peninsula. With introduction of agriculture, social classes evolved, and parts of the country united under powerful land owners. Chinese travelers during the Han and Wei dynasties claimed a queen called Himiko (or Pimiku) reigned over Japan during this time. She preserved her sovereignty over land owners who held authority over their spaces, used religious ritual via Shoten (male Shinto Monks) and Nai-Shoten (Female Priestess) for protection and healing of their family.

This period also witnessed the introduction of iron and trade from Korea into Japan. Since the “historical Japanese emperors” do not appear until 1st century CE, it is believed by legend that up until the arrival of Emperor Jimmu Tenno during this period, what we call kombucha was a vinegary drink only used as ritual medicine via the Nai-Shoten and Shotens for a select few. As trade increased, folklore migrated and assimilated with new indigenous cultures.

Now, we aren’t asserting that a ruler named Emperor Inyko was not healed with a tonic by a Dr. Kombu, but it's likely folk medicines of the area used a variety of fermented vinegar (acetic acid) delivery systems to administer herbs. We guess the SCOBY could have been a probable ritualized “Mother culture” preserved by the Shotens and Nai-Shoten, and passed to their apprentices in the Shinto ancient traditions.

200 BCE

The First Recorded use of Kombucha-The Elixir of Life

Today it is widely believed the first recorded use of kombucha was in China during the Tsin dynasty around 200 BCE where it was referred to as the Remedy for Immortality or The Elixir of Life. We looked for actual historical reference but found none.

100 CE

Kombucha Diaspora

Kombucha probably began making its way towards India, Ceylon, and Central Asia in caravans around 100 years after the initial fall of the vast Persian Empire (circa 300 BCE).

As silk, spice and farming routes from China & the Far East opened up and access was easier (around 100 BCE) trade between the once isolated cultures became possible. At the same time Alexander the Great conquered large territories which we identify today as Syria and Palestine, and as the Roman empire expanded across Europe, folk traditions from the far east continued to influence and become assimilated into cultural traditions already held in common. Many of these traditions centered around the feminine role in healing, nurturing, and keeper of hearth, of life. With different origins of people centralizing in community dwellings via coin (trade) it is probable such cultural migration moved kombucha brewing into the far reaches of Euro-Asia including Russia and the northern Asian territories.

100CE - 1,200CE

Folk Medicine Recognized as Cultural Identity

"Kombucha,” as we understand it today, virtually fell into obscurity - meaning a timeline of stories or historical accounts specifically talking about “magical immortal elixirs” are rare to find in written form. However, we were able to find the idea of holistic health only resurfacing in rural communities across Asia to Euro-Asian territories and down into present-day North Africa, including what we now call the “middle east,” as an overall idea regarding longevity. These lifestyles relied on oral tradition to teach lessons on overall lifestyle health instead of relying on “cures” and other downstream approaches currently practiced in our modern “health” care system. It is at this moment, we begin to see the emergence of “folk medicine” as a tool of cultural identity.

In most cases “folk” medicine involved the use of herbs, dietary support, as well as body energy or other "holistic" approaches to health. Theories and practices of folk medicine have heavily influenced formalized medicine systems and were often practiced in conjunction with institutionalized systems of healing such as Ayurvedic or Chinese Medicine.

1,200 CE - 1100 CE

As cultures integrated, new germs were inevitably introduced and new illnesses were spread. Without proper sanitation systems in place, the health of these new centralized community “urban” populations was becoming increasingly compromised. In addition to limiting individual access to nature in exchange for safety and security inside the community boundaries,”city dwellers” forgot to teach life skills otherwise essential to survival in these newly melded communities. There is a long history of the human use of vinegar (at least 10,000 years) both as a food and as a medicine.

During this time period evidence of “vinegary carrying bladders” in Genghis Khan’s empire seems to have made it’s way into myth as to the health and resilience of his armies. Many of the same organisms and biochemical reactions that are involved in making vinegar go into the creation of kombucha tea. In the writings of the Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans they suggested vinegar as an important medicine and, believed it to be an astringent to aid digestion, promote healthy liver and gallbladder function, as well as to refresh one and prevent scurvy.

1500 CE - 1800 CE

Scramble to Find a "CURE" to Diseases

Recognizing that those who did not spend much time in the cities seemed healthier, doctors, scientist, and formalized religious figures began to assemble a system that could help cure the diseases throughout their cities, especially during the many years infectious diseases plagued many cities. Officials began to look outside the city walls for answers to the ailments of urban dwellers.

Since folk medicine, wild ferments, and vinegar making (preservation) was practiced so widely among rural populations by, this time, we assume that fermented drinks would have a convenient and cheap delivery system or “medium” for medicinal herbals and roots. Tea leaves probably became more accessible via trade and cultural immersion, we assume that a kombucha like tonic was likely shared as one of a folk remedy for constipation or tummy illness because the taste was not as sour and acidic as plain vinegar. We guess that the doctors themselves were ill, sought relieve, and found it via healers amongst rural populations.

1894

Dentist and Nutrionisalist Pioneer Visits Indigenous Populations

In 1894 Dr. Weston Price, a nutritionist pioneer studying non-industrialized people began to establish the optimum characteristics of human diets. Over 100 years later in 1999, this research helped create the Weston Price Foundation and was published the book, Nourishing Traditions.

1900

Benefits of Kombucha Published

In the early 1900's, stories and written records described kombucha as a "healing tonic" that prolonged life. Some doctors believed kombucha was a prophylactic for diabetes, helped reduce the hardening of the arteries, eased high blood pressure, gout, signs of old age and served as a "pleasant" laxative.

Most notably, Rudolf von Jaksch, a prolific Austrian doctor of internal medicine most known for his research with childhood anemia, wrote in Klinische Diagnostik innerer Krankheiten, (Clinical Diagnosis of Internal Diseases) that he observed “striking improvements in the glandular system and the stimulation of metabolism by kombucha.” He further recommended it for gout, high blood pressure, nervous tension, and overall body fatigue.

1920 - 1970

Back To Eden and Flower Power

From the 1920's through late 1970's, kombucha began to surface in pockets across United States as part of a sub-culture ideology that leveraged natural health as the fulcrum of resistance to traditional western belief systems.

In 1964 Dr. Rudolf Skelnar wrote about his successes with kombucha in the Journal of Empirical Medicine. He advocated kombucha for the treatment of arthritis, constipation, obesity, arteriosclerosis, impotence, kidney stones, rheumatism, gout and most significantly, cancer, especially in early stages.

1994

The Mother, Mushroom Tea and Home Brewing

In Rosina Fasching's 1995, Tea Fungus Kombucha: The Natural Remedy and its Significance in Cases of Cancer and Other Metabolic Diseases, Skelnar's report is prominently featured as clinical research supporting some of the claims of kombucha’s benefit. "Mushroom Tea," as it was commonly referred to, was shared between friends similar to Amish friendship bread. It is important to note that counter culture social networks provided a way for the "Mother" to be shared. It was usually only given to those who already valued and sought a more holistic approach to health and nutrition.

With this distribution network, home kombucha brewing began to take root across the United States especially in areas like California and New York. The cultural history of remote areas such as the mountains of western Appalachia had a long tradition of canning and preserving as well as mead making, so it’s no surprise western North Carolina would quickly become a hotbed for craft beers as well as kombucha brewing.

1995

Kombucha Commercially Available in United States

In 1995, GTS the first known commercial producer of kombucha began selling in California. From his Los Angeles apartment, Dave made the first commercially available kombucha.

1995-2007

Early Commercial Kombucha Breweries

From 1995 - 2007, the industry began to grow nationwide adding over 20 commercial brewers across the west coast, spots in the mid-west and the north-east.

1999

Weston A Price Foundation - Nourishing Traditions Published

Dr. Price’s research demonstrated that men and women can achieve perfect physical form and health, generation after generation only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods. The book, Nourishing Traditions was published and its impact on the culture of home brewing kombucha was profound and widespread. Its support of wild unprocessed fermented foods inspired many health enthusiasts to brew, share and drink this ancient elixir called Kombucha.

2008

Buchi Kombucha Founded - 1st Kombucha Brewery in Southeast

Founded in the foothills of Appalachia as the only commercial kombucha company in the southeast. In a small kitchen in the historic Montford community in Asheville, Founders Jeannine Buscher and Sarah Schomber begin filling every horizontal service with one-gallon glass jars in the quaint 2 bedroom home. From the first bottle to the first demo, Jeannine, and Sarah have had the kids in tow.

2010

Buchi Tribe is Formed - The Brewery, Organic Farm and Humble Beginings

Buchi opened its 6,000+ square foot earth-bermed brewery on 180 acres of sustainably harvested organic farm, Herb Mountain Farms and conservation woodland, 20 minutes outside downtown Asheville, NC. Houses dotted the mountain landscape as the owners nurtured their brew, their bodies, their children in a one-room school house and each other.

2016

Widening the Circle - Growing Home in a Mountain Village

We are Growing Home by relocating from Herb Mountain Farms to a mountain village - Marshall, NC, still just 20 minutes from downtown Asheville. Population 900+, we are the owners of a three-acre parcel and abandoned 30,000 sq. feet tomato processing plant affectionately called “The Mato Building.” Currently, under renovation, Buchi is investing over $2 million in the redevelopment of the land and building. Upon completion (three phases), our intention is that the facility will boost a tasting room, a commercial in-house lab, organic terraced gardens, and co-working spaces.

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Myth vs Science

Kombucha is popularly consumed as a self-prescribed "folk-remedy" for numerous ailments. Kombucha has been attributed to enhancing immune support systems, improving cognition, aiding in digestive health, and supporting life.A miracle cure-all for what ales ya? Maybe. Maybe not. The body is complicated. Kombucha is complicated. We believe it's important to use all tools, folk traditions, and science in determining what are the best practices for improving and maintaining a healthy gut.

We craft a premium, raw, organic kombucha because we are constantly striving to be the best. We challenge our process, test the unthinkable and evolve our process based on facts. Likewise, we have started to debunk the myths around kombucha because we believe we can only do our best when we push the boundaries of the "commonly accepted" and the "unknown." The answer usually lies somewhere in between.

Below are some of the Lab-based Whitepapers we collected and our Probiotic Identification Sheet as PDFs to download.